Sunday, January 25, 2015

I am out of practice writing, so until I get back into the swing of things....don't judge too hard.

Today I woke up at 6:30 and tried to force Lilly to sleep until 8 with my phone, daniel tiger, and then the Magic School bus. It didn't work, but I did doze for a while. Then it was breakfast time. She cried because she couldn't have Jelly Belly's or crackers for breakfast. But she ate all of her fried egg, except one bite. I bought strawberries and pureed them last week. She ate those on vanilla yogurt mixed with oatmeal too. I just ate oatmeal. Then she ate half a banana muffin, but pretended it was a duck first and had it quack around her table tray. I did the dishes. Then I wiped her off and let her down. She found an old snack cup filled with cheese crackers in the shape of ducks. She did NOT make them quack. Instead, she crushed them up piece by piece and spread the crumbs around the new to us arm chair we got.

Josh swept the crumbs up while I showered. (He got to sleep in today).

Lilly is also wearing two pairs of pants b/c she chose too. She would be wearing three shirts and two sets of socks too, but I stopped helping her. She wants to go outside and throw snowballs so bad!

Yesterday we went out into the snow and she couldn't believe that snow made BALLS! It's her first and favorite word. Appropriate, I see that now. We all practiced throwing snow balls at the tree in our yard. Lilly mostly threw hers into the snow bank. She tried making her own snow balls, but her hands are still too little.

I showed Lilly how to flap her elbows and walk funny and quack, like a duck. Now she does that all the time. She loves ducks and quacking.

And now you are caught up on my life.

I love Daniel Tiger. It is a cartoon PBS show based off of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, only all the characters are the kids from the make believe land. Daniel is like Mr. Rogers and wears sweaters. Red ones. That's his favorite color. It's a great show because they deal with emotions in an assertive and responsible manner. It sets a good example for the kids who watch it, and to the parents. The mom Tiger gets mad one day when Daniel and his friend, Prince Wednesday, bring sand in the house to make a beach. It shows the mom calming down and responding in an appropriate way. They also use short songs to teach the lesson. I sing them to Lilly later so she remembers. The big one right now is "Grownups Come Back!" because she gets sad when I leave her. The show gives adults and children tools to deal with life in a fun and memorable way.

I go to a Mom's group called Mothers' of Preschoolers or MOPS. I didn't feel like I fit in at first. There are a lot of different opinions on things like college and how necessary it is or is not, and other things. Not things on raising kids...all the mom's realize that that is not something to criticize or put down. I stuck to it because I learn a lot of tricks and tips for being a stay at home mom. Like, prepare snack cups in the morning so they are ready and she can grab them on her own later in the day. I don't do this yet, but I know it can be done. MOPS is held at a church and provides childcare for 2 hours. We have a speaker and then we do a craft. Last week was on assertive responses to our children to prevent unnessecary battles. I enjoyed it a lot because a lot of the talk I already learned and try (TRY) to apply to everyday life. It also showed me how to praise Lilly and what she does with out giving her a Good Girl complex. I worry the most about that. I don't want her to be a Good Girl. Good girls always say yes, good girls don't cause trouble, good girls smile even if they aren't happy, good girls are always happy. Etc. Lilly is free to say no, get angry, and be herself... of course there are consequences if her choice is not a great one, but she got to choose! and that's what is important.

My house. I did want to talk about that. I hear a lot that it's super cute and perfect for my family. I don't know why I don't feel that way. I mean, it is cute, but it's really really really small...somehow...despite the fact that with the basement, it's the largest place I've ever lived in. The backyard, now, that's the best. That was the tipping point. No neighbors behind us, large shade trees, patio, and it's all fenced in. I can NOT wait for summer! The light switches are what really get me. I think they were installed for a left handed person because they are all on the wrong side of doors (or not at all at the door and you have to walk through the dark kitchen, navigate baby chairs or knives to turn on the light). All of the molding on the walls is falling off too. That doesn't bother me very much. It's just visual, and not a utility. But it is happening.